Review of Tarzan (2013) by Cassandra P — 23 May 2014

A very strange version of one of my favourite Disney films... can't say I really like it all that much, it seems... awkward. Firstly the premise is kinda dodgy; Tarzan is the orphaned son of not an explorer but the head of a business conglomerate searching for a meteorite that fell to earth at the time of the extinction of the Dinosaurs (the cause of it seems), which just so happens to be the ultimate new power source, which is why it was being searched for... but here's where it gets weirder, it's kind of sentient in that it can sense when a small shard is broken off of itself and summons the elements to smite the one who dared deface it... thus leaving Tarzan an orphan after his helicopter is smote against the side of a mountain in a gigantic explosion which by rights he should never have survived considering there seems to be no remains of any of the other occupants left... but I digress.

The story is kind of awkwardly told with giant shifts in time happening with little or no transition, which makes it seem stunted.

Besides that, the world is beautifully CG'd, however it feels unfinished with how awkwardly the characters move; it reminds me of the way the characters in VTM:Bloodlines walk; for those of you who know what I mean... yeah they seem that blocky and stunted at times. The characters also seem weirdly proportioned, I'm not sure what it is, but there's something a little off about the people.

The score tried it's best to be epic and moving, and I admit was pretty great; unfortunately I didn't feel the emotion in the visuals quite matched up to what the music was suggesting you were supposed to be feeling.

All in all I think kids would enjoy the film, but if you were expecting it to match up to Disney's Tarzan from 1999 then you'll be left as disappointed as me.